A city councilor is calling on local Democrats, Republicans and political advocacy groups to adhere to the intent of new rules the Election Commission wants to implement governing observers at polling locations.

Councilor-at-Large Frederick C. Rushton said while the secretary of state’s office has indicated the Election Commission cannot require observers to check in with the warden at polling places, produce identification or wear a badge identifying them, it can be requested of them.

He said he encourages observers from all political positions to voluntarily honor those requests to ensure that things run smoothly at all polling locations on Election Day.

“The Election Commission can’t require the observers to adhere to these rules, but it can request it of them and at this late stage of the process it’s probably best for both (political) parties to join together in a show of unanimity and get behind the spirit of these rules,” Mr. Rushton said in an interview tonight. “This is what America is all about: a fair and equitable election process.

“Those people who don’t want to identify themselves as an observer at the polls probably are there just to make trouble instead of wanting to provide for a fair election,” he added.

The Election Commission strongly pushed for greater accountability from election observers after allegations during the state primary Sept. 6 that some observers engaged in voter intimidation and voter suppression, which included challenging the legality of some voters and giving orders to poll workers.

There were also reports that some poll observers were illegally recording conversations between voters and poll workers.

To head off any chance of chaos at the polls in the Nov. 6 election, the Election Commission asked the secretary of state’s office if it could adopt local rules for poll observers.

In particular, the commission wanted to require observers to check in with the polling site warden, provide some form of identification consistent with what is required of voters, and wear a badge provided by the warden that would identify them as an observer.

The commission also wanted to prohibit observers from photographing, audio taping or videotaping within a polling place, even though the secretary of state allows pictures and video within polling places, although certain prohibitions do apply.

The five-member commission, which consists of two Democrats, two Republicans and one unenrolled member, was unanimous in its support in pushing for the new rules.

When election officials did not hear back from the secretary of state’s office telling them they could not implement such rules, a decision was made last Thursday to incorporate those new rules into the training for poll workers and police officers.

Earlier this week, however, the secretary of state’s office said the new rules are inconsistent with state election laws, and ordered the commission to correct them.

The Election Commission is meeting at 6 tomorrow tonight to clarify the protocols concerning observers at the polls.

Mr. Rushton praised the efforts of the Election Commission, saying members have done “a bang-up job” in wanting to address concerns and issues that arose out of the state primary election in regards to observers.

He said he feels the commissioners, led by Chairwoman Diane C. Mohieldin, have done their best to diffuse what could have been a potentially explosive situation at the polls on Election Day.

The councilor said he respects the efforts of the commissioners because they are “the boots on the ground” and are most familiar with the problems and ways they can be best addressed.

“They deserve a lot of credit for trying to run as professional and fair an election as possible,” Mr. Rushton said. “The members of the Election Commission are volunteers and they have put in a lot of time to address what happened at some of the polls in September. They have come up with some good solutions and should be commended for their work.

“I feel they have taken good steps to produce a fair and equitable election and everyone needs to get behind them,” he added. “I hope the secretary of state’s office looks at Worcester’s forward thinking and adopts it in the future.”

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